Top Stories: Face ID on Future Macs, Elon Musk Criticizes Apple, and More

Face ID Expected to Come to Mac Within a 'Couple of Years'

While it has been nearly four years since Face ID debuted on the iPhone X, the facial recognition feature has yet to expand to the Mac. However, that could change in the not too distant future, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week said Face ID is coming to the Mac within a "couple of years."

Gurman believes that Apple's ultimate goal is to shift most of its product lineup to Face ID, including lower-end iPhone models such as the iPhone SE and the iPad Air, both of which currently feature Touch ID.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Takes Shots at Apple During Earnings Call

In an earnings call this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made some pointed comments about Apple's so-called "walled garden" and the company's use of the rare-earth element cobalt, which has been associated with human rights issues like forced child labor and environmental concerns near mining sites.

Later in the week, Musk came out to publicly back Epic Games in its dispute with Apple, calling Apple's App Store "a de facto global tax on the Internet."

In crazier Musk news, a new book about Tesla claims that Musk demanded he be named Apple CEO in a brief phone discussion with Tim Cook about a potential acquisition of Tesla by Apple. Musk has denied the claim, saying that he and Cook have never even spoken or written to each other.

Apple Reports 3Q 2021 Results: $21.7B Profit on $81.4B Revenue, New June Quarter Records

Apple this week announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2021, which roughly covered the months of April through June. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $81.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $21.7 billion, or $1.30 per diluted share, shattering June quarter records for the company.

Apple saw strong performance across its product and services segments, but CEO Tim Cook says the company is expecting supply constraints to affect iPhone and iPad shipments during the current quarter.

Apple Demands Leaker Reveals Sources Under Threat of Being Reported to Police

It was recently reported that Apple sent letters to several prominent leakers asking them to immediately stop sharing information about unreleased products, or else face legal action, and further details about the letter have emerged this week.

First, it was reported that Apple demanded that leakers reveal any sources who provided them with information about Apple products that were not publicly available, and Apple also said that the leaks could mislead third-party case/accessory makers.

iPadOS 15 Gains macOS Monterey's Redesigned Safari Tab Interface

The fourth beta of iPadOS 15 that was released this week introduces tweaks to Safari, with the browser's layout now mirroring the updated design that was introduced in the third beta of macOS Monterey.

Apple also seeded a fourth beta of macOS Monterey to developers this week and this version enables the new Live Text feature on Intel-based Macs, whereas the feature was previously exclusive to Macs with the M1 chip.

iPhone 14 Pro Said to Feature Tougher Titanium Design

Next year's so-called "iPhone 14" lineup is expected to feature high-end models with a new titanium alloy chassis design, according to a recent investor note shared by investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase.

The investor note said the use of titanium alloy will be one of the biggest changes to the casing design of the 2022 iPhone models, and Foxconn will supposedly be the exclusive manufacturer of the titanium frames for the devices.

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